The teachings provided herein are directed generally to pre-print virtual rendering and depiction of a print job. The method and apparatus disclosed herein include a print system architecture and methodology for Document Production Visualization (DPV) for viewing of a document as a 3D image which can be inspected, manipulated and modified by an end user before committing the job to print-out. More particularly, a modular architecture for document production visualization is disclosed which may be implemented as a stand-alone application, or as a client-server application, which supports the input of different product formats as the print job definition, and allows for the plug-in use of different 3D rendering engines. Additionally, a system and method for managing and adjusting 3D models of binding elements is disclosed.
The printing industry is in a rapid state of change. The economics of the print market are forcing print manufactures to adopt such practices as lean manufacturing and computer integrated manufacturing (CIM), from order entry to delivery and invoice. Job definition format (JDF) and job management format (JMF) are two technical standards being proposed to help ease the flow of data, information, and content within and among the printing industry. The job definition format and job management format standards are perceived as enablers for the printing industry to move to a computer integrated manufacturing type of production process.
Thus, the printing industry is always looking for ways to improve how it conducts business. Of particular interest are ways to reduce production costs and improve efficiency. The system and methods disclosed herein transform the current production print practice by creating an easy to use document production visualization system.
The existing technologies that produce virtual renderings of a finished print piece are generally limited to providing only a two dimensional perspective. There are a few applications that provide a 3D rendering, but they are commonly implemented as a vector graphics-based animation application with full-screen navigation interfaces, graphic illustrations, and simple interactivity in an antialiased, resizable file format that is small enough to stream across a normal modem connection (e.g., FLASH™) or high-level computer programming languages that allow small application programs to be downloaded from a server to a client along with data that each program processes (e.g., JAVA™) and may require users to install undesirable plug-ins or run special applications. Thus, there exists a need for a system architecture that allows for a true 3D rendering in a browser with the ability to utilize various input formats and components (e.g. JDF, PDF), output rendering engines (e.g. JAVA3D™, FLASH™, Silverlight™, HTML5, SVG) and provide for flexibility of deployment (e.g. stand-alone application or client-server).
The systems and methods disclosed below and generally referred to herein as a document production visualization (DPV) system, has the value of allowing print buyers and print suppliers to deal with the growing complexity of the data and information associated with on-demand digital printing. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/001,431, incorporated by reference above, describes a system and method for the animated viewing of a 3D image of a document. Moreover, the system disclosed herein leverages the “virtual reality” computing power typically available on today's computer workstations and allows for a bi-directional flow of information. One aspect of document production visualization is the virtual rendering of the document being described by a job definition format (JDF) or similar standardized input. This virtual rendering has the advantage of allowing the user to “see” and even manipulate in 3D, the document before further time and materials are committed to a proofing or production process. The document may be viewed as it will appear in its final finished form, or alternatively at any stage of a given production process. Also provided are software controls so a user may interact with and modify the 3D image depiction of the document, directly altering the job definition format instructions, and thereby indirectly altering the actual completed final delivered physical print piece result.
The following summary is provided to facilitate an understanding of some of the innovative aspects unique to the teachings herein and is not intended to be limiting. A full appreciation of the various aspects of the embodiments disclosed herein is gained by taking the entire specification, claims, drawings, and abstract together as a whole.
One aspect of the following disclosure describes improved document production visualization systems and methods.
It is another aspect of the teachings herein to provide for a system that can be implemented as either a stand-alone application or a client-server application.
It is a further aspect of the teachings herein to provide bi-directional flow of information such that a user can alter a three dimensional virtual image display of a print piece and those alterations could be fed backwards through the system to alter the product definition.
It is a further aspect of the teachings herein to describe a system and method for managing and creating 3D models of binding objects of various types (e.g., coil, comb, spring clips, paper clips, bulldog clips, rings including “O” and “D” shapes, staples, Velobind™, glue, tape, etc.), and the customization of said 3D models.
Disclosed herein is a modular document production visualization system, comprising: a controller; a print product definition; a plurality of architecture layers managed and organized by the controller wherein the plurality of architecture layers include a print job ticket adaptation layer, a physical model layer, a display model layer, and a rendering layer; the print job ticket adaptation layer transforming the print product definition into a physical model; the physical model layer transforming the physical model into a display model; and the display model layer transforming the display model into a scene displayed as a three dimensional virtual rendering of the print product definition by the rendering layer on a graphical user interface.
Also disclosed herein is a document production visualization method, comprising: transforming a print product definition into a physical model utilizing a job ticket adaptation layer; transforming the physical model into a display model utilizing a physical model layer; transforming the display model into a scene utilizing a display model layer; and displaying said scene as a three-dimensional virtual rendering utilizing a rendering layer transform to a graphical user interface.
Further disclosed herein is a computer storage medium for generation of a three dimensional virtual rendering, the computer-usable medium embodying computer program code, the computer program code comprising computer executable instructions configured for receiving as input a print product definition, and generating a physical model from the print product definition utilizing a job ticket adaptation layer. The method also entails generating a display model from the physical model utilizing a physical model layer, and generating a scene from the display model utilizing a display model layer. The scene is displayed as a three dimensional virtual rendering of the print product definition on a graphical user interface utilizing a rendering layer. The method includes providing a controller configured to organize and manage the job ticket adaptation layer, the physical model layer, the display model layer, and the rendering layer.
The aforementioned aspects and other objectives and advantages of the disclosed embodiments can be achieved as described in further detail below.